Hollow Despairs
by Cally Callie
Summary: He was cursed at birth, and shall be until the end of his life. He can't control these powers...he must live alone. But at the given chance perhaps someone can help him. Ichigo ventures the land to become stronger but things are blown out of proportion when he is sucked into a prophecy that might involve him and a shadowy man that soon haunts his dreams. Au, Grimmichi


**A/N: **I've had this idea for awhile. And truth be spoken this is more of what I used to write. I wrote stories with morbid natures, grim atmosphere, and grotesque at times. And this is usually when I feel like I'm at my full potential when it's comes to writing. I personally don't think I'm all that good at doing reality or modern stories. I think I do better at my dark fantasies. Now first off, I warn you at times this will be very dark themed, and very morbid. And if you aren't the type to read this kind of stuff or like I strongly suggest you don't read this story. But if you would like to give it a try go right ahead.. But please if you feel bothered by this do NOT come to me and complain when I said straight out this is dark. Also .. since this is sort of a horror story ( It's not straight up horror ) and you are expecting vampires…. Well… there are none. Demons? Some. Werewolves… no. So then what's in it? I won't tell you. Oh, and this is a Grimmichi story. There is romance yes… not a ton of it nor is it oodles and oodles of fluff around every corner. Will there be sex?… Dunno. Maybe… but don't expect it to be soon and don't expect little teasers. If the plausible sex is your only highlight of my story to you… then just go away. I do apologize if that comes off the wrong way but I want to put that out there before anyone thinks about saying anything about it. Will there be fan characters of my creation?… Dunno. It's on the table but I've yet to decide. And if I do, and I highly doubt it, I'll likely kill them off. And someone asked whether this would have a good ending or not. And it will! I can't really do tragedies.. So all my stories will have good endings. This note is to those who have read my other Grimmichi story Smile for me… This won't interfere with the updates. That story is my main priority. So this one will take slower to update… I'd say like once a month or some. Smile for me I will try to update every two weeks or so. So yeah. That's all I'm really gonna say in here. So relax, enjoy, and hopefully be in for some surprises.

**Warnings**: AU, dark themes, morbid, slight OOC ( only a little bit so keep ya panties on ), blood, death, bad language and the like. ( this is not a tragedy either before someone asks .. again ) …this is for the entire thing by the way… I don't need to post this every chapter… gets tiresome.

" _Deep into the darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before" _

_-Edgar Allen Poe _

Hollow Despairs

Chapter One, To live is to die as to die is to live…

_Curse, this is a curse… Not a gift. No, no not at all_

The air was icy and rigid. The moon shone with an evil luminescence… it was an angry eye full of envious hatred. Glaring down at the land that feared her glow.

_This is a punishment! One that will surely kill me in the end !_

The moonlight glazed over the hills, lighting up only what she felt like. Her light casting the most devious of shadows in the cold darkness.

_But in death this won't end! It will keep going! _

It was near silent. Quiet but not quite… a sound interrupts the hushed howling of the wind and the creeks of trees. The sound was heavy, breathless and short. Over and over it would as though pant. The sound moved… fast far out into the woods.

_This torture won't stop! I can't control these powers!_

It ran… and ran… and ran. But even with the ever quickening pace, _they _followed. _They _pursued the one plagued with raspy breaths and gross coughs. _They _are chasing… _They _are hunting…

_Leave me alone! I want nothing to do with this!_

The short breaths soon turned to fits of sputtering hacks as it reached a gate…. It stood tall above mans head only by a foot. The wood dark with reddish stains and splintered. Scratches decorated the gates and the fencing that kept it company.

_They can't get me here! They can't get in!_

Even though drained, with every ounce of strength the gate was opened. A figure glided, and pushed with a fresh fear coating his eyes. He could still hear them coming… closer and closer. Grunts filled his ears. _They _called to him.

_Push faster! _

One last push and the gates were closed. The figured stood, slowing the horror, holding back the scream… He turned swiftly around walking towards the house he called his home. Reaching the door he opened cautiously as though any sudden noise would bring them in… but it wouldn't. _They _can't get in. No matter how hard _they _try. It is impossible…

Inside the surroundings were quaint, simple… it was home. Adjusting his cloak, he pulled down the hood revealing a short mane of orange locks. Running sweaty fingers through his limp hair, he teetered over to his quarters. He plopped down on plush bedding not even bothering to change into a proper night gown.

… _I know they're still there…_

He grabbed the pillow and stuffed his head underneath. Pressing down, desperately trying to drown out the noises. _They _were scratching at the gates, _they _were banging on the fencing… _They _grunted and cried out. _They _cried out his name..

"I'm safe here… nothing can hurt me. They can't get to me here." He whispered trying to lull himself into a calm state, failing miserably to still his quaking nerves. " I am safe… I am safe…" He chanted under his breath. He believed his words but still was his mind racing. His heart threatening to stop and burst out of his ribcage. He knew he wouldn't get hurt, not in here…

_They won't stop…_

He closed his eyes… waiting for sleep to cradle his tired eyes. … sleep never came. He lay there in the comforts of his room, slowly going mad as the noises seem to close in on him. If _they_ weren't the one to kill him… it was certainly their hollow cries that would drive him to perish where he lay.

The noises, after long painful hours, came to a stop. The rattle of wood no longer haunting his decaying mind. Gentle beams of light spilled through the windows. Slowly, sleepily he rose from the comforts of his bed. Brown eyes lifelessly glanced around, as though searching yet found nothing they were looking for. Just the house was there with it's humble furniture and dull walls. Heaving a breath he didn't know he held, he stands not bothering to stretch. He needed to get ready. Stepping into the wash room, he washes his faces and changes into clean garments, all of which are dull morbid black. He grabs his cloak and places it on his shoulders as he walks out the comforts of his home…or whatever he called the place at this point. He's pulls up the hood, hiding his glowing mane just as he stepped out and closed the door behind him. He begins to walk stopping just before the gates… His eyes met with numerous charms scattered all over the gates. Some large, or small.., Paper, metal, or even feathered.

_This holds them back… and they are weakening. I need more…_

Shoving the gates open, and after closing them, he breaks out into a run towards the village in the east. He needed to get there fast… The days were getting shorter. He had only a few hours to get what he needed and return. No time for dawdling…

_Go in, get them and go… Easy as that… _

If only believed his own lies… Regardless he kept his path towards the village. He clutched the pouch with what little money he had left.

_Soon I won't be able to buy anymore charms…_

He scolded himself for thinking about such a time he knew he will dread greatly, and threw away the horrid thought. It didn't matter, at least not yet… He still had money. He still had time left, just push on and hope it lasts long.

"But…when it does come to that… what will I do?" His voice was low, barely above a whisper. To say such a thing out loud, he had hoped for an answer… None came. He heaved a breath, starting to trot once he spotted the village off in the distance. He swallowed the lump in his throat once he closed in on it. Pulling his hood down farther, he made his way into the village. Shuffling past various bodies here and there, he hoped to bring little attention to himself. Children were running around, while their mothers didn't seem to be paying attention. One of the children ran past him, looked back and grinned at him. He didn't respond, he walked past the child. He had reasons to be here… and it wasn't to humor a child… He wandered around, avoiding suspicious stares, until he found what he was looking for. Before him lay a small shop. From the sign hung a dream catcher… The sign itself read _The Cauldron ._

"Here it is.." He said to himself as he pushed open the door. Inside it was dark, grimy, dust ridden, and shelves stocked up with questionable items. Walking through one of the small isles he noticed jars with what he hoped wasn't _human _body parts. Shrunken heads hung from the ceiling, talismans pilled on the floor, and other sorts the would make anyone's skin crawl… Not the most trust worthy of places. But he didn't have many options…

"I assume you are here for your usual order…" Reaching the counter, behind it sat a woman with deep purple hair pulled back and catty grin graced her features in the devilish of ways.

"I am…" He tossed the pouch towards the woman. "This should be enough…"

"Hmm…" She caught it with ease, not bothering to open it, she tossed it up a few times before letting out a cackle. "Sorry sweetie, but I'm afraid I'm going to need a little more than this…" She laughed again.

'But I don't have-" He was cut short as the woman stood, reaching over and placing a slender finger to his lips… the touch made him shiver in disgust.

"I'm exactly referring to money now…" Leaning forward more she showed off her cleavage that her dark dress revealed too clearly. "I'm thinking of something you know you won't regret…"

"…what are you talking about…" He backed up, a cold sweat began to trickle down his neck.

"You can't be that dense can you?" Hopping over the counter, she runs a hand up his arm licking her lips hungrily. " C'mon… life is short and who knows when you'll have another chance with a hot girl like me…" She chuckled.

"I'm really not interested…" He took several steps back as he felt heat flush into his cheeks once he finally understood what she was leading at.

"Oh come on… you should take up on my-"

"I see your harassing customers as usual Yoruichi…" From behind came a gruff voice, laced with arrogance. "Give the damn kid what he came for…"

Yoruichi hissed. She flopped back and sighed looking up in defeat. "Well that's no fun.. I was only kidding with the kid… God, Grimmjow don't be so stiff…"

Looking back at this Grimmjow the first thing he noticed was the shock of long blue hair pulled back out of his face, with a few strands loose over his forehead. He wore a white trench coat with the sleeves ripped off, it was opening showing off his chest which one could have seen as perfection if not for the large scar. His trousers were black, and so were his shoes, he stood over six feet tall and had eyes painted in the hue of the ocean… He was a step shy of being handsome… it was his deep scowl and angry glare that spoiled his looks. Looking at this Grimmjow he felt something… stir inside of him. The feeling quickly vanished just as it appeared…

"How about you stop being so loose of a woman…" Grimmjow spat, nothing bothering to deny her insult.

"Hmph.. You actually thought I would do it with _him? _Ha! No way…. He's just fun to tease but he's such a prude…" Yoruichi glanced his way. He glared back but said nothing.

"Just give the damn kid what he came for and let him go already!"

" I have a name!" He finally spoke, turning his full attention on the blue haired man.

"Which his?" He answered in a mocking tone.

"…Ichigo…" His voice shook slightly in reluctance.

"_One who protects, _huh? Pretty strong a name for someone so puny…" Grimmjow mused, reaching up a hand to pat Ichigo's hooded head. Ichigo swatted his hand before he could…

"Piss off. I'm not as weak as I look!" He looked the man dead in the eyes, pushing down the odd fluttery feeling in his chest, focusing on trying to look at least somewhat menacing.

It didn't seem to work… Grimmjow's eyes only widened and he let out a boisterous laugh. "Sure kid, I'll hold you to that…."

Ichigo grunted, without thinking he lunged towards the man ready to strike. He aimed straight for his face but when fist was supposed to touch the skin of his face it was held in a much larger hand in a deathly tight grip. He was shocked at how quickly he rose his hand…

"You fight to hastily… You shouldn't just jump into fights like that kid…" Grimmjow tightened his grip on Ichigo's fist making grunt in agony. "Especially against a guy that's had years and years of fighting under his belt!" Without warning Grimmjow grabbed hold of Ichigo's wrist and threw him out, and ultimately breaking the door to the shop.

" What the hell Grimmjow!?" Yoruichi's voice boomed but Grimmjow paid no mind to her as he walked out.

Ichigo struggled to sit up, growling in pain he rubbed the back of his head.

"Oh my goodness! Are you alright?" A woman ran up to him, ready to comfort him from his nasty _"fall" _but once laying her eyes on him she stopped fear striking her features. "It's you… The Necromancer! It's him! Necromancer! Necromancer!" She began to scream. Running off she chanted to the villagers. "Necromancer! Necromancer!" Her cries were followed by shouts and wails.

"Shit…" Ichigo scrambled to his feet, he had made up his mind on which way to run but was stopped by a hand on his forearm.

"Not this way kid! You'll run right into their palms! Follow me…" Grimmjow dragged Ichigo in between houses and alleyways. As they ran Ichigo could here the shouts that followed them… followed him.

"The Necromancer is here!?"

"Someone stop him!"

"Kill him!"

"Quick! Catch him before he uses his powers!"

"The monster must be executed before he causes harm upon us all!"

"Hang him!"

"Burn him!"

"Dead or Alive, see to it his evils are put to an end!"

Ichigo wanted nothing more than to have the voices silenced, but their shouts of horror and hatred forced their way into his mind. Ripping apart his sanity piece by piece.

"Keep up with me alright Kid?" Grimmjow shouted back as he held onto Ichigo.

Ichigo's lungs burned with every step. His throat was raw and it not for Grimmjow holding onto him, he'd have likely used both his hands to tear off his aching ears. Anything to stop the screams… But he couldn't. He had to suffer through the shouts until he reached safety.

_How long have we been running!?_

"Over here!" They had reached the outer reaches of the village as Grimmjow pulled Ichigo flush against him, hiding behind an old cottage that no one had taken residence in for quite some time. Not to far off they could hear the angered villagers bicker amongst themselves on their whereabouts.

"Where did he go?"

"Who was that with him?"

"Doesn't matter! He's with the Necromancer so he must be killed as well!"

"We can't let them run loose!"

"Find them!"

"Which way?"

"They couldn't have gone far!"

"Disgusting beasts, terrorizing our humble homes!"

"They must be stopped!"

"Let's have them beheaded!"

"We need to find them first!"

"I think they went this way!"

"Where!?"

"Here! They're over here!"

Grimmjow peaked out to see the villagers hustle off, thankfully, farther away from them. He let out a relieved sigh, thanking every God out there ( not that he really believed in any ) that the people here were apparently stupid. While he was thanking every God he could name, he didn't realize he still had Ichigo pushed up against him. Ichigo was stiff in Grimmjow's arms. Ichigo never was one to get physically close to a person… regardless of gender. Being his first time being held by someone other than a family member, Ichigo noted how warm he felt against him. His hands were on Grimmjows chest, he could feel the rough burned skin of his scar. He felt lightheaded, his breath slightly labored and his cheeks flushed a rosy pink. He wanted to push away from Grimmjow's hold but his mind was shot. He couldn't quite think straight.

"U-um…" His voice cracked slightly.

"Hm?" Grimmjow looked down, raising a brow as he noticed the tinge of pink in the young boy's cheeks.

"…can you maybe…let go of me now?!" He hissed in agitation.

"Oh! Sorry, Kid." Grimmow let go and watched as the boy stumble back. He looked over the boy in confusion… unsure of as to why he seemed so overly out of breath.

"Quit calling me kid, jackass!" Ichigo spat back at Grimmjow.

"Well ain't that nice to call someone who helped your sorry ass…" Grimmjow rubbed the back of his neck. "Didn't even get a thank you…"

"Thank you for helping me…" Ichigo forced out through clenched teeth.

"…Tch. Lucky I'm in a good mood… otherwise I'd kill ya without a single regret…" Ichigo tried his hardest not to strangle Grimmjow where he stood. " By the way… what the hell were they calling you a Necromancer for? The fuck is that anyway?"

Ichigo looked at the man, bewildered he didn't know what he was… " You … don't know what a Necromancer is…"

"Nope…" He stated with a bored expression. " I don't really believe in all that voodoo, witchcraft or whatever BS… I stopped crying over monsters that don't even show themselves when I realized the worst monsters were the ones I lived among… _humans._"

Ichigo was slightly taken aback at how insightful such an arrogant bastard sounded…even so he was stuck on how he said _human. _Almost as though he himself wasn't exactly human… or perhaps he was a really big hypocrite.

_I think I'll go with hypocrite. _

"… You really don't need to know…" Ichigo looked away… but once he did so his heart fell.

_The suns going down! _

"I have to go!" Ichigo started to run off into the forest. He had stayed here too long. If he fools around much long… _they _will rise. As he ran Grimmjow followed him in pursuit. He could hear him call his names in between cusses.

"Ichigo! Wait! Dammit! You still didn't answer me!" Grimmjow gave it to the boy, he was fast… But he didn't understand why he was in such a rush.

Ichigo stopped, panting angrily before whipping around and glaring heavily at the older man. "If you're trying to pull some _let me help you, you aren't a monster _shit like you're some fucking knight I suggest fucking off now before I decide to kick your ass…" Ichigo hissed.

Grimmjow chuckled. " Trust me kid… I wasn't planning on it…"

"…fuck…" Ichigo cussed once more glancing at the sky as it melted into a shades of orange and splashes of pink…. How he despised those colors.. "You want to know what I am?"

Grimmjow only stared…

"I am the thing that brings about man's worst nightmare… I am the reminder of the thing they dread most… I am the darkness…I am the doubt… I am the wonder… I am the thing so many fear…" Ichigo began to turn…

"Kid… I was never one for riddles… But if you ask me guys pussy out at the mere thought of death…" Grimmjow shrugged.

"Exactly… dying and living are practically the same thing you know… I should know…" Giving Grimmjow one last glance, Ichigo ran off into the forest. Grimmjow stared off in the direction he ran, processing what he had said.

"Dying and living? What the fuck is he talking about!?" He quickly gave up on Ichigo's cryptic words. Even so he noted the faint sound of fear in his voice… Whatever was going on with the young boy, Grimmjow knew it was serious. "I know I'm gonna regret doing this…" He muttered as he took off following Ichigo deep inside the forest…

To Be Continued…

**Welp… that's it for now! A little rusty… been awhile since I've done this kinda crap. So sorry if it sucked royally… and I'm 85% sure it it…. *sigh… Oh well… can't do much about it now. OH! And for those of you who don't know what a Necromancer is, basically it's someone who can summon the dead. My interpretation of it isn't as simple as that… in fact there's a lot more to it. But I won't address it here and now. It will be later on though. Um…and that's about all I can think of as additional notes.**

_Next Chapter of Hollow Despairs…_

_As Grimmjow follows Ichigo to his gated and lonesome home, he will soon become a believer of all things supernatural… Wanting to help the poor boy control his gift they set out on a reluctant journey to find someone that can help him… along the way they find a begger spewing an interesting prophecy of the light of day and the dark of night becoming one… They soon find themselves wrapped in something much larger, and much more dangerous than either of them wanted. Worse yet Ichigo is having violent visions of a familiar man shrouded in shadows…_

_Until Next time. _

_Hollow Despairs_

_Chapter Two, Blazing Night and Cold Morning _


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